UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State’s Sokolov-Miller Family Financial and Life Skills Center has been ranked 15th in the U.S. in 2018 by LendEDU against similar university financial literacy programs.
LendEDU, an online loan marketplace, said the “remarkable” amount of resources available to students contributed to the center’s high ranking, including personal meetings with financial professionals, presentations to groups and monthly online webinars. The article also mentioned the accomplishments of Daad Rizk, director of the center, in her award in 2017 as educator of the year from the Institute of Financial Literacy.
“Ranking helps all universities to review and improve services to students,” Rizk said. “At Penn State, the Sokolov-Miller Family Financial and Life Skills Center is currently focused on expanding its services to create an impact on our students’ abilities to make informed financial decisions.”
Each college or university program was rated on a 50-point scale based on three criteria: the number of workshops and available resources, access to one-on-one consultation and available incentivizing programs. Penn State’s program scored a 43.6.
The complete list of ranked schools was released in January.
The Sokolov-Miller Family Financial and Life Skills Center was founded in 2013 to promote financial-related skills among students and the broader University community. In 2017 the center moved administrative homes at Penn State from the Office of Outreach and Online Education to the Office of Undergraduate Education.
In April 2018, the center received a generous gift from Rick and Susan Sokolov through the University’s fundraising campaign, “A Greater Penn State for 21st Century Excellence.” This allowed the center to expand staff and programming in support of its mission of access and affordability by providing students the knowledge and tools needed for managing their money.
In addition to fulfilling presentation requests from Penn State organizations and groups, campuses, and first-year and senior seminars, the center provides 24 self-study modules for online learners, and holds an open, no-cost bi-monthly webinar on a different topic related to financial literacy. For more information, visit the center’s website.
The center offers services to the entire Penn State community and is part of the Office of Undergraduate Education, the academic administrative unit that provides leadership and coordination for University-wide programs and initiatives in support of undergraduate teaching and learning at Penn State.